Bosses Who Do 11 Unwise Things Make Even The Best Employees Feel Completely Exhausted
CarlosBarquero | Shutterstock The number one reason people leave their jobs isn't necessarily work-life balance, a poor working culture, or undercompensation; rather, it’s their boss. People almost always make the decision to "quit their bosses" because they hold the most power in influencing the areas of employees' professional lives that they find most important, but still don't.
Of course, while they can be flexible and promote all these important things, most are inherently harmful. Whether it's micromanaging or expecting late nights and weekends in the office, bosses who do certain unwise things make even the best employees feel completely exhausted. Instead of pushing their workers to the brink of burnout and overwhelm, they can encourage autonomy, show empathy, take accountability for their errors, and foster a healthy workplace environment.
Bosses who do 11 unwise things make even the best employees feel completely exhausted
1. 'Checking in' on projects way too often
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Working for a boss who does unwise things can feel oppressive, especially when they begin micromanaging the workloads of their employees. As journalist Rebecca Knight argues, this ultimately crafts an unhealthy and toxic work atmosphere where everything is unnecessarily urgent, employees feel dehumanized, and peers are forced into a competitive environment, sparking higher rates of burnout and dissatisfaction.
Micromanagement from a boss makes it clear that they don't quite care about the needs of their employees, creating a false sense of urgency and directly relaying a mistrust. Their constant check-ins and second-guessing is only a reminder that you're a pawn in the greater scheme of validation and productivity.
2. Saying work peers are 'your family'
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While a "family culture" at work might be outwardly beneficial as a group of tight-knit peers working together with their shared interests in mind, the majority of these ideals in practice are inherently toxic, according to business coach Kathryn Gunnarsson, bleeding all the worst family dynamic traits into work-life relationships.
Boundaries more likely to be blurred in workplaces like this, but the hierarchies that typically aren't present in true "families" are introduced in a strange way in practice. Fueling burnout, resentment, and strange power dynamics, many employees are left feeling disappointed and disconnected.
3. Constantly changing your job description
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When bosses make the unwise decision to constantly change the job descriptions of their employees, changing them to best suit their own needs, it can make their workers feel incredibly exhausted. It indicates that they have no issues taking advantage of their employees, and believe everything is urgent and needs to be done immediately.
According to an Aflac survey, only 48% of American employees believe their employers or company they work for actually care about their well-being. The survey also found that 57% of employees are experiencing burnout currently at their jobs due to a "heavy workload."
From adding extra projects to an employee's workload to shifting responsibilities onto already burnt out co-workers when someone resigns, these kinds of companies aren't worried about safeguarding the health and well-being of their workers, only pumping out work and being "most efficient."
4. Having unreachable efficiency standards
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Many bosses, who have the kind of skewed perception of their workplace that affects their ability to accurately delegate projects and set realistic timelines, also bring that ignorance into their team's dynamic and interactions with their employees.
According to management consultant Liz Kislik, these kinds of bosses have a tendency to draw on previous workplace environments or old traditional expectations to motivate their teams, even if those expectations are unrealistic and the regulations they uphold are misguided.
5. Hardly ever hiring extra hands, even when they're needed
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Despite the tendency for employees to burnout amid the resignation or firing of their colleagues, when a boss doesn't want to hire extra people to help with the workload, it's an incredibly unwise decision. Many employees can likely relate to the feeling that comes with their boss disregarding their pleas for help, where the culture in the office only grows more tumultuous.
Instead of preparing for a replacement or training a new hire, a boss like this feels like they don't have time for anything outside of ever-urgent tasks, delegating that person's workload onto their already overworked teams. Those employees then feel overworked and underappreciated, and may think of quitting in the near future.
6. Being dismissive
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According to employment expert Adriana Quaranto, dismissive bosses aren't necessarily distrusting of their teams; ratehr, they're overcompensating for their own insecurities by relying upon "tried-and-true" measures for success. Even if that means turning down innovative ideas from employees or stifling productivity over fears of new attitudes, bosses are more concerned with themselves and not the well-being of their teams.
Employees may struggle to get validation from their boss, feeling unheard in a professional setting, and experiencing overwhelm due to the chaos their boss tends to spark. But this managerial style not only holds workers back from professional growth, but creates resentment in their work life that's difficult to unlearn.
7. Marking all their project deadlines as 'ASAP'
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When a boss creates a false sense of urgency and insists on having impossible deadlines, it shows that they don't really care about the well-being of their employees. Nothing is ever presented at a reasonable time as an employee, giving them little to no time to utilize task management techniques or healthy work load preparations.
Setting up their employees for failure, unwise bosses continuously express a sense of anxiety and urgency, keeping their office from maintaining a healthy and balanced atmosphere and motivated attitudes.
8. Expecting late nights and weekends from employees
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Great bosses prioritize their employee's work-life balance, not just objectively with time off policies and work boundaries, but leading by example. They prioritize their breaks and personal time by letting them leave work on time, taking their vacation days, and staying home when they're sick.
On the other hand, toxic bosses who assert anxiety-inducing auras onto their teams will often pass blame and frustration onto their employees, simply for putting their personal time first. Because they view their work as the center of their lives, filled with "family" peers and constant stress, they can't help but resent their employees for taking a step back.
9. Overworking their teams to the point of burnout
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Managers and bosses are only as good as their teams. When the employees they're supposed to be supporting are feeling burnt out, that's a reflection of their boss's prioritization of work-life balance and a healthy work culture, not necessarily the team's work ethic or boundaries.
According to a survey from Fiverr, despite 85% of bosses agreeing they "recognize" the employee burnout crisis and the toll it's taken on workplace dynamics, most aren't equipped with the self-assuredness, confidence, and leadership it takes to truly support their employees.
10. Guilt-tripping employees who take time off
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As a survey from CalendarLabs found, 75% of employees feel guilty for taking time off work, despite having plenty of vacation hours or sick time to use. Nearly 66% also admit they put in extra hours and time at the office before going on vacation to "make up" for taking a break.
When everything is "a priority" or "urgent" to a boss, it's not just unwise but incredibly unsurprising that their teams feel ashamed for taking a step back and investing in their personal time. They're always missing out, seemingly putting their job and advancement at risk, and disappointing "their family" at work.
Of course, great bosses actively work to ensure neither of these experiences or emotions happen on their teams. Rather than guilting their employees for using the personal time off that they're allotted, they make that time accessible and celebrated.
11. Discouraging creativity
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In a work environment founded on flexibility, the beauty of innovation and creativity on work teams thrives. However, in an environment where everything is unnecessarily dull and creativity is discouraged, employees feel rushed, constricted, and unfairly supported to think outside the box.
While worker creativity is largely under-researched, according to a study published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, there is a tendency for innovation and creativity amongst peers at work to spark envy-driven relationships, especially if there's a boss who cultivates a negative working environment for this resentment to grow.
Unwise bosses are more focused on an unrealistic standard of productivity and efficiency to consider how a healthy work environment, supported and happy employees, and fulfilling relationships at work can actually help them achieve those success-driven metrics faster.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a senior editorial strategist with a bachelor’s degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
